Promptings from Valhalla - 19. Blue Christmas

“Where am I?”

“You are in the Blue Forest on the outskirts of Blues Town.”

“Is that like Bluesville? Where’s B.B. King?” I snickered. I was either hallucinating or dreaming. Or dead.

The giant navy blue man sitting next to me in the azure clearing laughed—a booming sound that made the sapphire leaves quake like aspen on their cerulean branches. “I like your sense of humor,” he stated.

“Seriously, though. What is this place?” I waved my hand in front of my face, marveling that I had the strength to do so, and the lack of an IV.

“Blues Town acknowledges the fact that not everyone celebrates during the holidays. In fact, this time of year can be quite sad for many people. The loss of family members, milestones never reached, lack of family and friends… it can be quite a lonely time for some.”

“People who won’t see another one,” I said, picking the soft stalks of blue grass next to me and letting the broken fronds fall to the ground, then repeating the process.

“Yes. It can be a particularly bad time for the terminally ill and their loved ones.”

I wiped a tear from my cheek. “Am I dead?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then why am I here? I’m blue enough without all this—” I gestured around me. “—blue.”

“You are being given an opportunity not afforded to many.”

I snorted. “Ah. Got it. Evan must have left It’s a Wonderful Life playing on the TV. That explains the dream.”

“Evan has given you a most precious gift.” The man reached beside him and held a turquoise bottle intricately decorated with intertwining lines of every shade of blue imaginable. The glass swirled and sparkled as if alive, producing a hypnotizing effect.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It’s yours,” he said, handing it to me.

“Mine?” I took it from him gently. Warmth radiated from the bottle as the swirling intensified. “What do I do with it?”

“Evan was deemed worthy of a wish, but instead has passed it along to you. Use it wisely.” The man stood. He was almost as tall as the trees.

“Wait! What do I do? Who are you? I don’t understand this!” I yelled.

“Make your wish, then drink.” He strode into the forest, his footfalls surprisingly silent for one so large.

Wish? I stared after him. This was one hell of a strange dream. I stood and walked around the clearing, relishing the strength and vitality I felt. Grinning, I bolted into a dead run through the clearing and into the forest. It had been close to a year since I was last able to run.

Euphoria flooded through me as I pumped my legs faster and faster, the soft royal blue moss beneath my feet spurred me on until the forest was one giant blur of blue in my peripheral vision. I stopped when I burst into another clearing, laughing and rolling around the bright orange and yellow grass. Orange and yellow? What happened to the blue?

I sat up and checked out my surroundings. The forest encircling the clearing was now comprised of red and purple trees with bright florescent leaves of pink, green, and violet. The bottle in my hand shook from the roiling liquid within. It was still blue, but sparkled almost pure silver from the bright flashes from whatever it contained.

Make a wish, then drink it.

Blue’s voice echoed in my head so loudly, I looked around to see where he was.

Evan has given you a most precious gift.

I clutched the bottle to my chest, the warmth seeping into my very soul. Evan and I had always joked that if we ever found a genie, we’d give each other the wishes. Since he had given me this wish, I supposed it wouldn’t be fair to give it back to him.

Evan. I sighed. He’d always been the more fragile of the two of us. While he was prone to fits of melancholy, I tended to be more of a glass half full kind of guy. Evan preferred more sedentary hobbies, while I was the runner, basketball player, or skier. I was the cook, while he was the cleaner. I worked while he went to college, then he returned the favor. Our lives were full of balance—a perfect yin/yang where our strengths complimented our weaknesses.

And then the balance shifted. It happened gradually. I ran shorter distances because I tired more easily. Shooting hoops hurt my joints too much, so I stopped playing. I gained weight due to the decreased activity, which made me cranky. Evan chalked it up to a mid-life crisis, even though I was only in my late twenties. I didn’t know what to call it.

When things got worse instead of better, Evan blamed himself. Soon, even everyday tasks became exhausting. We stopped having sex. Evan accused me of having an affair. As a last ditch effort to save our relationship, I booked a weekend away at a ski resort. We skied together, despite Evan’s lack of coordination and my exhaustion. I think we were equally shocked that it was me who ended up breaking a bone.

Breaking my arm turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us. Well, best and worst. While it saved our relationship, it came with a pretty steep price. The reason I had been so run down and cranky was apparent after several rounds of testing—I had cancer. Not just any cancer…no… regular old treatable cancer wasn’t good enough for me. I had to have a very aggressive beast growing inside of me. Within months, it was determined that chemo wasn’t going to tame the bastard, and I went into Hospice care.

Evan. My darling Evan, held my hand when the chemo made my stomach empty its contents. He bought me hats to keep my bald head warm. He stayed with me night after night, reading me my favorite books, or just talking to me in a low voice. When we decided to stop treatment, he told me, “We’ve been together for over ten years, but it feels like ten minutes. It’s not enough, but every second we’ve spent together, every word we’ve exchanged, every time we shared our bodies, is so precious to me. I love you and want the best for you. Which means you can let go. You’ve been my rock, but your strength is now my strength. I’ll be OK because of you and your love. I’ll never forget you, my darling. Please, be at peace.”

I sobbed as I clutched the bottle to my chest. There was only one reason he passed that bottle on to me. I removed the stopper and bright blue mist rose in a sparkling swirl out of the opening. Without hesitation, I brought it to my lips and drank its contents in one go, making my wish as I swallowed.

*****

My fingers tingled with numbness and I tried to move them to get rid of the pins and needles, but found I was unable to do so. I blinked my eyes open, my surroundings slowly coming into focus. The rainbow forest was gone, replaced by the ochre walls and light green trim of our living room. Bright sunlight streamed through the bay window, highlighting my love’s sandy blond hair. I couldn’t move my arm because Evan was sleeping on it.

“Babe?” I croaked, my voice hoarse from disuse. I moved my free arm to stroke his silky waves. I loved Evan’s hair.

He stirred and shifted position, a smile brightening his face. If he was a cat, he’d have been purring.

“Ev… you’re on my arm.”

The change in Evan’s facial expressions as he went from sleep to bleary awakening, to full-on consciousness was pretty funny. I grinned and chuckled.

“Better get some coffee, babe,” I joked.

“Bran? Oh my God… Bran! You’re awake!”

I reached my hand out and he grabbed it in both of his. Tears streamed down his face. “Your eyes… they’re… blue! And sparkling.” He stared at me, wonder filling his emerald green eyes as he gazed into mine.

“I had the strangest dream,” I said.

Evan gasped. “It was real? The bottle? The giant blue guy?”

“I don’t know, but I got your message loud and clear. You’re right, my darling. Ten years is not nearly enough. I want to spend the next hundred with you. And then another hundred, and another. You get the idea.”

He laughed and placed his forehead against mine. “Deal.” Then he kissed me.

The prompt:  Inside this bottle swirls a sparkling blue mist.  Whoever opens it is gifted with the magic of one Christmas wish.  You use it to…
 
Thanks to LitLover for checking out my story for any errors or inconsistencies.  And thanks to all for reading!  I hope you enjoyed my take on the prompt